I am an incredibly lucky human being. I live in a beautiful home, in a fantastic town, with a great job, excellent health insurance (don't get me started on dental though!). I have a safe car, I get to travel with my family. Our needs are met, and then some.
I am INCREDIBLY lucky. I know that. As a single mom, I know that I am doubly, triply, blessed. My ex and I actually manage to get along, and put the kids first.
This photo journal article was posted today by a UK publication. Homeless in Cape May is a chronicle of the homeless living in Cape May (County, is what I am assuming). It has rifled quite a few feathers as painting Cape May in a bad light. It's not just Cape May- it's all major cities in the US. It's small towns, smaller cities. While this article highlights one place- the same headline could be about Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadephia. There is a disparity of wealth.
Here's my question- if you're upset about it, what are you personally doing to help? No individual can solve homelessness, housing insecurity, food instability- by themselves. Well, if you're a billionaire maybe you can do more. I don't frankly know any billionaires, so I'm assuming my readers are average humans. I could make a comment about our current government, but others have done a much better job than I.
Bottom line, there is a way for every single human to do something for the betterment of humanity. Whether it's tucking away a $5 gift card or two to the local coffee shop (I live in MA- so that's Dunkin' obviously), or grabbing a few extra pairs of gloves to keep in the car if you find yourself at an intersection with a panhandler. I don't know the story of every person living on the street- and I don't need to. Basic human decency goes a long way. I know that upon learning about the lack of access to feminine hygiene supplies provided to food pantries and shelters, that's my family's focus.
More needs to be done. I get so upset and overwhelmed- and then I check myself. Small things mean a lot.
If everyone who read this did ONE thing for the indigent community where they live- that would add up.
Challenge accepted?
Monday, February 18, 2019
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Slacker Blogger Here...
Apparently I like February, since my last post was February 2018!!! Whoops. Well, what do you expect my loyal readers?? I clearly can't come up with pithy retorts frequently. So hmm, aside from the fact that it's cold- some basic updates.
-The boys both had surgery in October- thank goodness for Lali and Grampy because it was a day of revolving scrubs- from pre-op to OR to recovery for kid one, REPEAT. I will ALWAYS proclaim my love for Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary because they are amazing. Dr. Leila Mankarious is a goddess amongst surgeons, and their child life staff is top notch.
-M is in grade 3, J in grade 1. Both are having excellent years and lordy loo has M turned into a reader! Yesterday he woke me up at 5:45 am declaring a state of emergency- AS I HAD NOT PREORDERED THE NEW BOOK COMING MONDAY. Um, not a state of emergency, but these days, our entire country seems a little awkward in defining an emergency. (and I had preordered the book- M only reminded me every other minute for weeks)
-Did you know that numerous ear infections in the first two years of life can impact adult teeth? Yeah, well now you do. It wasn't enough that J had numerous surgeries, was deaf for a while, learned to read lips, mastered some sign. All of the fluid pressure crap totally FUCKED his adult teeth, waaaaay before eruption. So he'll be having some serious dental work in May. Who knew seven year olds could get crowns? And for real, WTH with insurance not covering anesthesia- the system is rigged I tell you! And having all of that done with a dental averse kid is NOT happening.
-Work is still amazing. Exhausting, but fantastic.
-I have muscles in my body that I've recently started using, so I am petitioning BioFreeze to invent a full body dip product.
-We just were blessed with a full blown Team Baer Disney trip over Christmas- including Auntie Sara!!! It was amazing to be with Lali, Grampy, Auntie- enjoying all that Disney has to offer. M is big enough for scary rides, so it was a blast. Auntie has a fancy watch so we know we walked a total of 42 miles. And, the discovery of a lovely restaurant that shall remain un-named because we don't want it to get crowded. Animal Kingdom remains a favorite, and the bonus three FastPasses our last day were AWESOME! Test Track baby!!! It was the first time I had been there for New Year's Eve- and holy wow. Lali and Grampy were with M and J, and Epcot legitimately turned into a nightclub. DJ's, epic bass, special effects, party hats- an experience I will never forget (and won't repeat- there were over 100,000 people there).
-Petey joined our family March 17, 2018, and has proven to be the best dog ever. He is also a champion counter surfer which we learned on day one- RIP corned beef. He loves sleeping, eating, and the sun. Oh, and bow ties.
-We are now permanent Cape May in the summer people with the addition of the Beehive and the annex, Petey's Ping Pong Palace. All of Team Baer is thrilled and every morning J asks if we're going yet.
-Oh, and I turned 40! Digging it so far.
-Fern was unrepairable after her last kerfuffle- so we welcomed Zeus, my first male car- he's a zippy Honda Odyssey (I FINALLY HAVE A MINIVAN) and we are all in LOVE!
Other than that, just still being a family of goofballs- today we made lasagna as a family and it was lovely. There was minimal fighting, M made the sauce (scratch!) which turned out fantastic. J managed the cheese, and I browned the (99% fat free organic ground turkey-yeah, some things have changed here...). They took turns building layers and are so excited to have it for dinner.
And my favorite recipe of the year, just in case you're interested.... Hot Corn Dip. We had it our neighbor's and wow. It's incredible. My kids adore it (and don't realize they are eating at least some vegetables, and you can use FF cream cheese, sour cream, and reduced fat pepperjack- because you CAN'T use healthy mayo. I tried. It failed). Go make it now.
-The boys both had surgery in October- thank goodness for Lali and Grampy because it was a day of revolving scrubs- from pre-op to OR to recovery for kid one, REPEAT. I will ALWAYS proclaim my love for Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary because they are amazing. Dr. Leila Mankarious is a goddess amongst surgeons, and their child life staff is top notch.
-M is in grade 3, J in grade 1. Both are having excellent years and lordy loo has M turned into a reader! Yesterday he woke me up at 5:45 am declaring a state of emergency- AS I HAD NOT PREORDERED THE NEW BOOK COMING MONDAY. Um, not a state of emergency, but these days, our entire country seems a little awkward in defining an emergency. (and I had preordered the book- M only reminded me every other minute for weeks)
-Did you know that numerous ear infections in the first two years of life can impact adult teeth? Yeah, well now you do. It wasn't enough that J had numerous surgeries, was deaf for a while, learned to read lips, mastered some sign. All of the fluid pressure crap totally FUCKED his adult teeth, waaaaay before eruption. So he'll be having some serious dental work in May. Who knew seven year olds could get crowns? And for real, WTH with insurance not covering anesthesia- the system is rigged I tell you! And having all of that done with a dental averse kid is NOT happening.
-Work is still amazing. Exhausting, but fantastic.
-I have muscles in my body that I've recently started using, so I am petitioning BioFreeze to invent a full body dip product.
-We just were blessed with a full blown Team Baer Disney trip over Christmas- including Auntie Sara!!! It was amazing to be with Lali, Grampy, Auntie- enjoying all that Disney has to offer. M is big enough for scary rides, so it was a blast. Auntie has a fancy watch so we know we walked a total of 42 miles. And, the discovery of a lovely restaurant that shall remain un-named because we don't want it to get crowded. Animal Kingdom remains a favorite, and the bonus three FastPasses our last day were AWESOME! Test Track baby!!! It was the first time I had been there for New Year's Eve- and holy wow. Lali and Grampy were with M and J, and Epcot legitimately turned into a nightclub. DJ's, epic bass, special effects, party hats- an experience I will never forget (and won't repeat- there were over 100,000 people there).
-Petey joined our family March 17, 2018, and has proven to be the best dog ever. He is also a champion counter surfer which we learned on day one- RIP corned beef. He loves sleeping, eating, and the sun. Oh, and bow ties.
-We are now permanent Cape May in the summer people with the addition of the Beehive and the annex, Petey's Ping Pong Palace. All of Team Baer is thrilled and every morning J asks if we're going yet.
-Oh, and I turned 40! Digging it so far.
-Fern was unrepairable after her last kerfuffle- so we welcomed Zeus, my first male car- he's a zippy Honda Odyssey (I FINALLY HAVE A MINIVAN) and we are all in LOVE!
Other than that, just still being a family of goofballs- today we made lasagna as a family and it was lovely. There was minimal fighting, M made the sauce (scratch!) which turned out fantastic. J managed the cheese, and I browned the (99% fat free organic ground turkey-yeah, some things have changed here...). They took turns building layers and are so excited to have it for dinner.
And my favorite recipe of the year, just in case you're interested.... Hot Corn Dip. We had it our neighbor's and wow. It's incredible. My kids adore it (and don't realize they are eating at least some vegetables, and you can use FF cream cheese, sour cream, and reduced fat pepperjack- because you CAN'T use healthy mayo. I tried. It failed). Go make it now.
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